The Black Talent in Design & Fashion Fund is an initiative that directly funds and supports Black students studying to enter the fashion and/or footwear industry. Through our partnership, Centric Brands provides scholarship funds to support their critical mission and to create a sustainable pipeline of talent for interns to grow into fashion and retail professionals. During our first partnership year, three BTDFF students were accepted into the Summer Internship Class of 2022.
Launched in 2020, the McKinsey Connected Leaders Academy portfolio includes three central academies: The Asian Leadership Academy, The Black Leadership Academy, and The Hispanic & Latino Leadership Academy. Each academy offers a Leadership Essentials Program for early careerists, a Management Accelerator for early to mid-career managers and an Executive Leadership Program for senior leaders 1-2 levels below the C-Suite. Centric Brands launched its first cohort of Leadership Essentials in 2022 and will launch cohorts of Management Accelerator and Executive Leadership Program in early 2023.
Blackstone LaunchPad partners with higher education institutions across the U.S. to provide entrepreneurial skills-building programs and experiential learning opportunities that prepare BIPOC and first-generation college students for success in the 21st century economy. Centric Brands offers Launchpad students 1:1 employee mentorship and the opportunity to shadow and rotate through various departments and roles in the Company.
Centric Brands is a proud partner of Blackstone Career Pathways – a program that helps recruit, develop and advance historically untapped talent through increased access to jobs and career advancement opportunities within the Blackstone portfolio of companies. Learn more at: blackstone.com/careerpathways
The Fashion Scholarship Fund is the foremost fashion-oriented education and workforce development nonprofit organization in the U.S. Centric Brands sponsors FSF Recipients every year to support the next generation of young talent through internship and career development, mentorship, and networking opportunities.
Time To Vote is a nonpartisan, business-led initiative to help ensure employees across America don’t have to choose between voting and earning a paycheck. Centric Brands joined the Time to Vote movement in 2021, reaffirming our commitment to giving our associates the time they need to cast their ballots.
Parity.org is the leading impact organization increasing representation of women and people of color in organizational leadership, where the gap is the widest. Centric Brands signed the ParityPLEDGE® in 2023, amplifying our commitment to interview and consider at least one qualified woman and person of color for every open role, Vice President and higher, including C-suite and the Board of Directors.
Engage For Good is an over 20-year-old organization founded with the goal of providing business and nonprofit professionals working at the intersection of cause and commerce with the practical information and connections they need to succeed, including best practices, tips and trends as well as connect with others in this growing field. Centric Brands/Centric Cares is a member of the Engage For Good professional network which connects us with like-minded for-profit and not-for-profit organizations that act like a support and think-tank for doing good and making an impact.